Big band era also found welcoming crowds at Indiana Beach

Jun. 12, 2011

Written by

MONTICELLO -- The Indiana Beach Ballroom's music lineage can be traced back to a time before the term rock 'n' roll was coined.

The venue brought in top talent during the height of the big band era. Starting with Glenn Miller in 1940, records show jazz legends such as Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton and Dave Brubeck played Monticello in the 1940s and '50s.

The transition from big band to pop and rock 'n' roll bookings at Indiana Beach started around 1957 when Bill Haley & the Comets performed.

The rock 'n' roll pioneer was followed by the King-ston Trio, Four Freshmen and Brenda Lee from 1958 to 1961. From 1964 on, the shows were dominated by rock 'n' roll.

Monticello's John Baum grew up in the big band era and remembers when Glenn Miller played the ballroom.

As Baum reached his teen years in the late 1940s, the frequency of appearances by big name bands somehow made the shows seem less special.

"It just didn't mean anything to me, out of the ordinary," said Baum, a volunteer at the White County Indiana Historical Society museum.

"It just wasn't a big occurrence."

Baum and his friends would go to these "dances," not knowing the fame level the band leader would have at the time, or later in his career.

"That's the way it was a lot of times: You don't appreciate history when it's right in front of you until you read about it later," Baum said.

To locals such as Baum and Judy Baker, who grew up during World War II, such entertainers as Glenn Miller and Boots Randolph seemed frivolous.